Lysosomes, which are present in all animal cells, are acidic cytoplasmic organelles that contain an assortment of hydrolytic enzymes. These enzymes function in the degradation of internalized and endogenous macromolecular substrates. When there is a lysosomal enzyme deficiency, the deficient enzyme's undegraded substrates gradually accumulate within the lysosomes causing a progressive increase in the size and number of these organelles within the cell. This accumulation within the cell eventually leads to malfunction of the organ and to the gross pathology of a lysosomal storage disease, with the particular disease depending on the particular enzyme deficiency. More than thirty distinct, inherited lysosomal storage diseases have been characterized in humans.
Enzyme Replacement Therapy
One proven treatment for lysosomal storage diseases is enzyme replacement therapy in which an active form of the enzyme is administered directly to the patient. However, abundant, inexpensive and safe supplies of therapeutic lysosomal enzymes are not commercially available for the treatment of any of the lysosomal storage diseases. There are a large number of metabolic storage disorders known to affect man. As a group, these diseases are the most prevalent genetic abnormalities of humans, yet individually they are quite rare. One of the three major classes of these conditions, comprising the majority of patients, is the sphingolipidoses in which excessive quantities of undegraded fatty components of cell membranes accumulate because of inherited deficiencies of specific catabolic enzymes. Principal disorders in this category are Gaucher disease, Niemann-Pick disease, Fabry disease, and Tay-Sachs disease. All of these disorders are caused by harmful mutations in the genes that code for specific housekeeping enzymes within lysosomes. Thus, to be effective, enzyme replacement therapy requires that the requisite exogenous enzyme be taken up by the cells in which the materials are catabolized and that they be incorporated into lysosomes within these cells. Fabry disease is an ideal candidate for enzyme replacement therapy because the disease does not involve the central nervous system. The therapeutic enzyme does not need to be delivered across the blood-brain barrier (1, 2).
The effectiveness of enzyme replacement therapy has been dramatically documented in the treatment of patients with Gaucher disease. This condition is the most frequent of all metabolic storage disorders. It is estimated that there are 15,000 patients with this condition in the United States and about 80,000 worldwide. Soon after the enzymatic defect in Gaucher disease was established, consideration was given to the possibility of treating patients with purified α-glucocerebrosidase (3). Dr. Brady elected to use human placental tissue as the source of enzyme in order to minimize sensitizing patients to the exogenous protein. Initial studies with small amounts of glucocerebrosidase injected intravenously into patients with Gaucher disease revealed that the exogenous enzyme reduced the quantity of accumulated glucocerebroside in the liver and in the blood (4). A large-scale enzyme purification procedure was developed in order to obtain sufficient quantities for clinical efficacy trials (5). It was then learned that modifications of the terminal sugars on oligosaccharide chains of the enzyme were necessary in order to target intravenously administered enzyme to macrophages where most of the glucocerebroside is stored. Targeting to macrophages was accomplished by sequential enzymatic removal of monosaccharide residues from glucocerebrosidase resulting in mannose-terminal glucocerebrosidase (6). Administration of this glycoform of glucocerebrosidase to patients has brought about immense improvement in their condition (7-10). The modified enzyme (alglucerase) is now produced commercially by Genzyme Corporation in Cambridge, Mass., under the trade name Ceredase™. The beneficial effects of this treatment have been universally confirmed (11-13). Production of recombinant glucocerebrosidase (imiglucerase) is underway in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, and the product (Cerezyme™) is as effective as placental glucocerebrosidase (14). The experience with Gaucher treatment validates enzyme replacement therapy with a product that requires post-translational modifications.
Fabry disease is caused by deficiencies in the catalytic activity of the lysosomal enzyme α galactosidase A (Gal-A). Human Gal-A is a glycoprotein homodimer with a molecular weight of approximately 101 kDa containing 5-15% Asn-linked carbohydrate. The enzyme contains approximately equal portions of high mannose and complex type glycans. Upon isoelectric focusing, many forms of the enzyme are observed due to differences in sialylation depending on the source of the protein (tissue or plasma forms). The disease is inherited as an X-linked recessive trait. A number of specific mutations in the gene have been characterized, including partial rearrangements, splice-junction defects and point mutations. Most of these mutations are private and therefore, the gene appears to be highly mutable relative to genes encoding other housekeeping enzymes. Defects result in the accumulation of glycosphingolipid substrates, globotriaosylceramide and related glycolipids with terminal α-galactosidic linkages. Uncatabolized substrate accumulates in the plasma, vascular endothelium and various organs leading to an early demise from vascular disease of the heart, brain, and kidney, particularly in the classically affected hemizygous males. In addition to systemic disease, affected individuals often suffer from peripheral neuropathies and have characteristic angiokeratoma of the skin. Heterozygous female carriers may have a more attenuated range of disease phenotypes (1,2).
Exploratory trials of enzyme replacement therapy for Fabry disease have demonstrated the biochemical effectiveness of this approach (15-18). Repeated injections of purified splenic and plasma Gal-A reduced the level of plasma substrate and may have mobilized stored tissue substrate into circulation. No immunological complications were apparent in repeated infusions of enzyme into hemizygous males. Further investigations have not been attempted because of the great difficulty in obtaining sufficient quantities of enzyme for a meaningful replacement trial. The availability of large quantities of enzyme would enable optimization of glycoforms for therapeutic efficacy by improving cell targeting and prolonging the half-life in circulation and target organs.
α Galactosidase
In the early 1970's, several investigators demonstrated the existence of two .α.-Galactosidase isozymes designated A and B, which hydrolyzed the α-galactosidic linkages in 4-MU-and/or rho-NP-α-D-galactopyranosides (62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69) In tissues, about 80%-90% of total α-Galactosidase (α-Gal) activity was due to a thermolabile, myoinositol-inhibitable α-Gal A isozyme, while a relatively thermostable, α-Gal B, accounted for the remainder. The two “isozymes” were separable by electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing, and ion exchange chromatography. After neuraminidase treatment, the electrophoretic migrations and pI value of α-Gal A and B were similar (70), initially suggesting that the two enzymes were the differentially glycosylated products of the same gene. The finding that the purified glycoprotein enzymes had similar physical properties including subunit molecular weight (about 46 kDa), homodimeric structures, and amino acid compositions also indicated their structural relatedness (70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77). However, the subsequent demonstration that polyclonal antibodies against α-Gal A or B did not cross-react with the other enzyme (78, 79) that only α-Gal A activity was deficient in hemizygotes with Fabry disease (80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86) and that the genes for α-Gal A and B mapped to different chromosomes (Desnick, et al., 1989, in The Metabolic Basis of Inherited Disease, Scriver, C. R., Beaudet, A. L. Sly, W. S. and Valle, D., eds, pp. 1751-1796, McGraw Hill, New York; deGroot, et al., 1978, Hum. Genet. 44:305-312), clearly demonstrated that these enzymes were genetically distinct.
α-Gal A and Fabry Disease
In Fabry disease, a lysosomal storage disease resulting from the deficient activity of α-Gal A, identification of the enzymatic defect in 1967 (Brady, et al., 1967, N. Eng. J. Med. 276:1163) led to the first in vitro (Dawson, et al., 1973, Pediat. Res. 7: 694-690m) and in vivo (Mapes, et al., 1970, Science 169:987) therapeutic trials of α-Gal A replacement in 1969 and 1970, respectively. These and subsequent trials (Mapes, et al., 1970, Science 169:987; Desnick, et al., 1979, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 76: 5326; and, Brady, et al., 1973, N. Engl. J. Med. 289: 9) demonstrated the biochemical effectiveness of direct enzyme replacement for this disease. Repeated injections of purified splenic and plasma α-Gal A (100,000 U/injection) were administered to affected hemizygotes over a four month period (Desnick, et al., 1979, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 76:5326). The results of these studies demonstrated that (a) the plasma clearance of the splenic form was 7 times faster than that of the plasma form (10 min vs 70 min); (b) compared to the splenic form of the enzyme, the plasma form effected a 25-fold greater depletion of plasma substrate over a markedly longer period (48 hours vs 1 hour); (c) there was no evidence of an immunologic response to six doses of either form, administered intravenously over a four month period to two affected hemizygotes; and (d) suggestive evidence was obtained indicating that stored tissue substrate was mobilized into the circulation following depletion by the plasma form, but not by the splenic form of the enzyme. Thus, the administered enzyme not only depleted the substrate from the circulation (a major site of accumulation), but also possibly mobilized the previously stored substrate from other depots into the circulation for subsequent clearance. These studies indicated the potential for eliminating, or significantly reducing, the pathological glycolipid storage by repeated enzyme replacement. However, the biochemical and clinical effectiveness of enzyme replacement in Fabry disease has not been commercially available due to the lack of sufficient human enzyme for adequate doses and longterm evaluation.
The α-Gal A Enzyme
The α-Gal A human enzyme has a molecular weight of approximately 101,000 Da. On SDS gel electrophoresis it migrates as a single band of approximately 49,000 Da indicating the enzyme is a homodimer (Bishop & Desnick, 1981, J. Biol. Chem. 256:1307). α-Gal A is synthesized as a 50,500 Da precursor containing phosphorylated endoglycosidase H sensitive oligosaccharides. This precursor is processed to a mature form of about 46,000 Da within 3-7 days after its synthesis. The intermediates of this processing have not been defined (Lemansky, et al., 1987, J. Biol. Chem. 262:2062). As with many lysosomal enzymes, .α.-Gal A is targeted to the lysosome via the mannose-6-phosphate receptor. This is evidenced by the high secretion rate of this enzyme in mucolipidosis II cells and in fibroblasts treated with NH.sub.4 Cl.
The enzyme has been shown to contain 5-15% Asn linked carbohydrate (Ledonne, et al., 1983, Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 224:186). The tissue form of this enzyme was shown to have about 52% high mannose and 48% complex type oligosaccharides. The high mannose type coeluted, on Bio-gel chromatography, with Man.sub.8-9 GlcNAc while the complex type oligosaccharides were of two categories containing 14 and 19-39 glucose units. Upon isoelectric focusing many forms of this enzyme are observed depending on the sources of the purified enzyme (tissue vs plasma form). However, upon treatment with neuraminidase, a single band is observed (pI-5.1) indicating that this heterogeneity is due to different degrees of sialylation (Bishop & Desnick, 1981, J. Biol. Chem. 256:1307). Initial efforts to express the full-length cDNA encoding α-Gal A involved using various prokaryotic expression vectors (Hantzopoulos and Calhoun, 1987, Gene 57:159; Ioannou, 1990, Ph.D. Thesis, City University of New York). Although microbial expression was achieved, as evidenced by enzyme assays of intact E. coli cells and growth on melibiose as the carbon source, the human protein was expressed at low levels and could not be purified from the bacteria. These results indicate that the recombinant enzyme was unstable due to the lack of normal glycosylation and/or the presence of endogenous cytoplasmic or periplasmic proteases.
Gaucher Disease and Treatment
Gaucher disease is the most common lysosomal storage disease in humans, with the highest frequency encountered in the Ashkenazi Jewish population. About 5,000 to 10,000 people in the United States are afflicted with this disease (Grabowski, 1993, Adv. Hum. Genet. 21:377-441). Gaucher disease results from a deficiency in glucocerebrosidase (hGCB); glucosylceramidase; acid β-glucosidase; EC 3.2.1.45). This deficiency leads to an accumulation of the enzyme's substrate, glucocerebroside, in reticuloendothelial cells of the bone marrow, spleen and liver, resulting in significant skeletal complications such as bone marrow expansion and bone deterioration, and also hypersplenism, hepatomegaly, thrombocytopenia, anemia and lung complications (Grabowski, 1993, supra; Lee, 1982, Prog. Clin. Biol. Res. 95:177-217; Brady et al., 1965, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 18:221-225). hGCB replacement therapy has revolutionized the medical care and management of Gaucher disease, leading to significant improvement in the quality of life of many Gaucher patients (Pastores et al., 1993, Blood 82:408-416; Fallet et al., 1992, Pediatr. Res. 31:496-502). Studies have shown that regular, intravenous administration of specifically modified hGCB (Ceredase.™., Genzyme Corp.) can result in dramatic improvements and even reversals in the hepatic, splenic and hematologic manifestations of the disease (Pastores et al., 1993, supra; Fallet: et al., 1992, supra; Figueroa et al., 1992, N. Eng. J. Med 327:1632-1636; Barton et al., 1991, N. Eng. J. Med. 324:1464-1470; Beutler et al., 1991, Blood 78:1183-1189). Improvements in associated skeletal and lung complications are possible, but require larger doses of enzyme over longer periods of time.
Despite the benefits of hGCB replacement therapy, the source and high cost of the enzyme seriously restricts its availability. Until recently, the only commercial source of purified hGCB has been from pooled human placentae, where ten to twenty kilograms (kg) of placentae yield only 1 milligram (mg) of enzyme. From five hundred to two thousand kilograms of placenta (equivalent to 2,000-8,000 placentae) are required to treat each patient every two weeks. Current costs for hGCB replacement therapy range from $55 to $220/kg patient body weight every two weeks, or from $70,000 to $300,000/year for a 50 kg patient. Since the need for therapy essentially lasts for the duration of a patient's life, costs for the enzyme alone may exceed $15,000,000 during 30 to 70 years of therapy.
A second major problem associated with treating Gaucher patients with glucocerebrosidase isolated from human tissue (and perhaps even from other animal tissues) is the risk of exposing patients to infectious agents which may be present in the pooled placentae, e.g., human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis viruses, and others.
Accordingly, a new source of hGCB is needed to effectively reduce the cost of treatment and to eliminate the risk of exposing Gaucher patients to infectious agents.
Hurler Syndrome and Treatment
Hurler syndrome is the most common of the group of human lysosomal storage disorders known as the mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) involving an inability to degrade dermatan sulfate and heparan sulfate. Hurler patients are deficient in the lysosomal enzyme, α-L-iduronidase (IDUA), and the resulting accumulation of glucosaminoglycans in the lysosomes of affected cells leads to a variety of clinical manifestations (Neufeld & Ash well, 1980, The Biochemistry of Glycoproteins and Proteoglycans, ed. W. J. Lennarz, Plenum Press, N.Y.; pp. 241-266) including developmental delay, enlargement of the liver and spleen, skeletal abnormalities, mental retardation, coarsened facial features, corneal clouding, and respiratory and cardiovascular involvement. Hurler/Scheie syndrome (MPS I H/S) and Scheie syndrome (MPS IS) represent less severe forms of the disorder but also involve deficiencies in IDUA. Molecular studies on the genes and cDNAs of MPS I patients has led to an emerging understanding of genotype and clinical phenotype (Scott et al., 1990, Am. J. Hum. Genet. 47:802-807). In addition, both a canine and feline form of MPS I have been characterized (Haskins et al., 1979, Pediat. Res. 13:1294-1297; Haskins and Kakkis, 1995, Am. J. Hum. Genet. 57:A39 Abstr. 194; Shull et al., 1994, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 91:12937-12941) providing an effective in vivo model for testing therapeutic approaches.
The efficacy of enzyme replacement in the canine model of Hurler syndrome using human IDUA generated in CHO cells was recently reported (Kakkis et al., 1995, Am. J. Hum. Genet. 57:A39 (Abstr.); Shull et al., 1994, supra). Weekly doses of approximately 1 mg administered over a period of 3 months resulted in normal levels of the enzyme in liver and spleen, lower but significant levels in kidney and Lungs and very low levels in brain, heart, cartilage and cornea (Shull et al., 1994, supra. Tissue examinations showed normalization of lysosomal storage in the liver, spleen and kidney, but no improvement in heart, brain and corneal tissues. One dog was maintained on treatment for 13 months and was clearly more active with improvement in skeletal deformities, joint stiffness, corneal clouding and weight gain (Kakkis et al., 1995, supra. A single higher-dose experiment was quite promising and showed detectable IDUA activity in the brain and cartilage in addition to tissues which previously showed activity at the lower does. Additional higher-dose experiments and trials involving longer administration are currently limited by availability of recombinant enzyme. These experiments underscore the potential of replacement therapy for Hurler patients and the severe constraints on both canine and human trials due to limitations in recombinant enzyme production using current technologies.
Lysosomal Enzymes: Biosynthesis and Targeting
Lysosomal enzymes are synthesized on membrane-bound polysomes in the rough endoplasmic reticulum. Each protein is synthesized as a larger precursor containing a hydrophobic amino terminal signal peptide. This peptide interacts with a signal recognition particle, an 11S ribonucleoprotein, and thereby initiates the vectoral transport of the nascent protein across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane into the lumen (Erickson, et al., 1981, J. Biol. Chem. 256:11224; Erickson, et al., 1983, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 115:275; Rosenfeld, et al., 1982, J. Cell Biol. 93:135). Lysosomal enzymes are cotranslationally glycosylated by the en bloc transfer of a large preformed oligosaccharide, glucose-3, mannose-9, N-acetylglucosamine-2, from a lipid-linked intermediate to the Asn residue of a consensus sequence Asn—X—Ser/Thr in the nascent polypeptide (Kornfeld, R. & Kornfeld, S., 1985, Annu. Rev. Biochem. 54:631). In the endoplasmic reticulum, the signal peptide is cleaved, and the processing of the Asn-linked oligosaccharide begins by the excision of three glucose residues and one mannose from the oligosaccharide chain.
The proteins move via vesicular transport, to the Golgi stack where they undergo a variety of posttranslational modifications, and are sorted for proper targeting to specific destinations: lysosomes, secretion, plasma membrane. During movement through the Golgi, the oligosaccharide chain on secretory and membrane glycoproteins is processed to the sialic acid-containing complex-type. While some of the oligosaccharide chains on lysosomal enzymes undergo similar processing, most undergo a different series of modifications. The most important modification is the acquisition of phosphomannosyl residues which serve as an essential component in the process of targeting these enzymes to the lysosome (Kaplan, et al., 1977, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 74:2026). This recognition marker is generated by the sequential action of two Golgi enzymes. First, N-acetylglucosaminyl-phosphotransferase transfers N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate from the nucleotide sugar uridine diphosphate-N-acetylglucosamine to selected mannose residues on lysosomal enzymes to give rise to a phosphodiester intermediate (Reitman & Kornfeld, 1981, J. Biol. Chem. 256:4275; Waheed, et al., 1982, J. Biol. Chem. 257:12322). Then, N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphodiester α-N-acetylglucosaminidase removes N-acetylglucosamine residue to expose the recognition signal, mannose-6-phosphate (Varki & Kornfeld, 1981, J. Biol. Chem. 256: 9937; Waheed, et al., 1981, J. Biol. Chem. 256:5717).
Following the generation of the phosphomannosyl residues, the lysosomal enzymes bind to mannose-6-phosphate (M-6-P) receptors in the Golgi. In this way the lysosomal enzymes remain intracellular and segregate from the proteins which are destined for secretion. The ligand-receptor complex then exits the Golgi via a coated vesicle and is delivered to a prelysosomal staging area where dissociation of the ligand occurs by acidification of the compartment (Gonzalez-Noriega, et al., 1980, J. Cell Biol. 85: 839). The receptor recycles back to the Golgi while the lysosomal enzymes are packaged into vesicles to form primary lysosomes. Approximately, 5-20% of the lysosomal enzymes do not traffic to the lysosomes and are secreted presumably, by default. A portion of these secreted enzymes may be recaptured by the M-6-P receptor found on the cell surface and be internalized and delivered to the lysosomes (Willingham, et al., 1981, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 78:6967).
Two mannose-6-phosphate receptors have been identified. A 215 kDa glycoprotein has been purified from a variety of tissues (Sahagian, et al., 1981, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 78:4289; Steiner & Rome, 1982, Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 214:681). The binding of this receptor is divalent cation independent. A second M-6-P receptor also has been isolated which differs from the 215 kDa receptor in that it has a requirement for divalent cations. Therefore, this receptor is called the cation-dependent (M-6-P.sup.CD) while the 215 kDa one is called cation-independent (M-6-P.sup.CI). The M-6-P.sup.CD receptor appears to be an oligomer with three subunits with a subunit molecular weight of 46 kDa.
Biosynthesis of Lysosomal Enzymes
Although many lysosomal enzymes are soluble and are transported to lysosomes by M-6-P receptors (MPR), integral membrane and membrane-associated proteins such as human glucocerebrosidase (hGCB) are targeted and transported to lysosomes independent of the M-6-P/MPR system (Kornfeld & Mellman, 1989, Erickson et al., 1985). hGCB does not become soluble after translation, but instead becomes associated with the lysosomal membrane by means which have not been elucidated (von Figura & Hasilik, 1986, Annu. Rev. Biochem. 55:167-193; Kornfeld and Mellman, 1989, Annu. Rev. Cell Biol. 5:483-525). hGCB is synthesized as a single polypeptide (58 kDa) with a signal sequence (2 kDa) at the amino terminus. The signal sequence is co-translationally cleaved and the enzyme is glycosylated with a heterogeneous group of both complex and high-mannose oligosaccharides to form a precursor. The glycans are predominately involved in protein conformation. The “high mannose” precursor, which has a molecular weight of 63 KDa, is post-translationally processed in the Golgi to a 66 KDa intermediate, which is then further modified in the lysosome to the mature enzyme having a molecular weight of 59 KDa (Jonsson et al., 1987, Eur. J. Biochem. 164:171; Erickson et al., 1985, J. Biol. Chem., 260:14319).
The mature hGCB polypeptide is composed of 497 amino acids and contains five N-glycosylation amino acid consensus sequences (Asn—X—Ser/Thr). Four of these sites are normally glycosylated. Glycosylation of the first site is essential for the production of active protein. Both high-mannose and complex oligosaccharide chains have been identified (Berg-Fussman et al., 1993, J. Biol. Chem. 268:14861-14866). hGCB from placenta contains 7% carbohydrate, 20% of which is of the high-mannose type (Grace & Grabowski, 1990, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 168:771-777). Treatment of placental hGCB with neuraminidase (yielding an asialo enzyme) results in increased clearance and uptake rates by rat liver cells with a concomitant increase in hepatic enzymatic activity (Furbish et al., 1981, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 673:425-434). This glycan-modified placental hGCB is currently used as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of Gaucher's disease. Biochemical and site-directed mutagenesis studies have provided an initial map of regions and residues important to folding, activator interaction, and active site location (Grace et al., 1994, J. Biol. Chem. 269:2283-2291).
The complete complementary DNA (cDNA) sequence for hGCB has been published (Tsuji et al., 1986, J. Biol. Chem. 261:50-53; Sorge et al., 1985, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82:7289-7293), and E. coli containing the hGCB cDNA sequence cloned from fibroblast cells, as described (Sorge et al., 1985, supra), is available from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) (Accession No. 65696).
Recombinant methodologies have the potential to provide a safer and less expensive source of lysosomal enzymes for replacement therapy. However, production of active enzymes, e.g., hGCB, in a heterologous system requires correct targeting to the ER, and appropriate N-linked glycosylation at levels or efficiencies that avoid ER-based degradation or aggregation. Since mature lysosomal enzymes must be glycosylated to be active, bacterial systems cannot be used. For example, hGCB expressed in E. coli is enzymatically inactive (Grace & Grabowski, 1990, supra).
Active monomers of hGCB have been purified from insect cells (Sf9 cells) and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells infected or transfected, respectively, with hGCB cDNA (Grace & Grabowski, 1990, supra; Grabowski et al., 1989, Enzyme 41:131-142). A method for producing recombinant hGCB in CHO cell cultures and in insect cell cultures was recently disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,838. Recombinant hGCB produced in these heterologous systems had an apparent molecular weight ranging from 64 to 73 kDa and contained from 5 to 15% carbohydrate (Grace & Grabowski, 1990, supra; Grace et al., 1990, J. Biol. Chem. 265:6827-6835). These recombinant hGCBs had kinetic properties identical to the natural enzyme isolated from human placentae, as based on analyses using a series of substrate and transition state analogues, negatively-charged lipid activators, protein activators (saposin C), and mechanism-based covalent inhibitors (Grace et al., 1994, supra; Berg-Fussman et al., 1993, supra; Grace et al., 1990, J. Biol. Chem. 265:6827-6835; Grabowski et al., 1989, supra). However, both insect cells and CHO cells retained most of the enzyme rather than secreting it into the medium, significantly increasing the difficulty and cost of harvesting the pure enzyme (Grabowski et al., 1989, supra). Accordingly, a recombinant system is needed that can produce human or animal lysosomal enzymes in an active form at lower cost, and that will be appropriately targeted for ease of recovery.
Enormous Costs of Pharmaceutical Enzyme Production
While the clinical treatment of Gaucher patients provides a dramatically successful example of an effective therapy, the expense underscores an equally inadequate production technology. For example, the present cost for the first year of treatment for a severely affected 70 kg patient with Gaucher disease can reach $382,000. If the patient's clinical parameters are not restored to normal in that time, treatment at this level of expense will be prolonged before dose reduction can be initiated. Even with dose reduction, it is likely that the maintenance cost for such an individual will be in the range of $135,000 per year (at $3.70/IU). Many patients are unable to pay this large cost, and health carriers are extremely reluctant to underwrite this treatment for the life of these patients. Cerezyme™ is as expensive as Ceredase™ and at this time is available only in limited quantities. The number of patients with Gaucher disease in the US currently receiving therapy is estimated to be only 10-15% of the total. According an article in Nature Medicine, since the introduction of this therapy six years ago the cost of treating Gaucher patients worldwide will soon approach one billion dollars (19). Although the total number of patients worldwide who would benefit from therapy is not known with any certainty, it is safe to assume that at least 80% of the world Gaucher population remain untreated. To quote from the NIH Technology Assessment Conference Summary Statement, Feb. 27-Mar. 1, 1995. “As a prototype for all rare diseases, the plight of patients with Gaucher disease raises difficult financial and ethical issues, which we as a society must address (20).” Fabry disease is estimated to occur at a frequency of 1 in 40,000. Over 400 hemizygous male patients have been clinically described. It is imperative that fundamentally new methods of enzyme production be developed to reduce these costs so that all who suffer from these rare disorders can be treated.
Mammalian Lysosomes versus Plant Vacuoles
Because plants are eukaryotes, plant expression systems have advantages over prokaryotic expression systems, particularly with respect to correct processing of eukaryotic gene products. However, unlike animal cells, plant cells do not possess lysosomes. Although the plant vacuole appears functionally analogous to the lysosome, plants do not contain MPRs (Chrispeels, 1991, Ann. Rev. Pl. Phys. Pl. Mol. Biol. 42:21-53; Chrispeels and Tague, 1991, Intl. Rev. Cytol. 125:1-45), and the mechanisms of vacuolar targeting can differ significantly from those of lysosomal targeting. For example, the predominant mechanism of vacuolar targeting in plants does not appear to be glycan-dependent, but appears to be based instead on C- or N-terminal peptide sequences (Gomez & Chrispeels, 1993, Plant Cell 5:1113-1124; Chrispeels & Raikhal, 1992, Cell 68:613-618; Holwerda et al., 1992, Plant Cell 4:307-318; Neuhaus et al., 1991, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88:10362-10366; Chrispeels, 1991, supra; Chrispeels & Tague, 1991, supra; Holwerda et al., 1990, Plant Cell 2:1091-1106; Voelker et al., 1989, Plant Cell 1:95-104). As a result, plants have not been viewed as appropriate expression systems for lysosomal enzymes which must be appropriately processed to produce an active product.
An object of this invention is to provide the existing patient population with enough active enzyme to develop a lower cost treatment. The enzymatic, structural, and glycan compositional analyses show rGal to be active. There are recent advances in glycoprotein modification and drug delivery that allow, as examples, the chemical conjugation of peptides to carbohydrate, the covalent addition of polyethylene glycol to enzymes and the liposomal encapsulation of protein. Many additional new concepts can be tested to increase the half-life of enzymes in circulation and optimize cellular and subcellular targeting. Ideally, these modifications will require a facile and rapid genetic system to produce large quantities of highly pure enzyme and an effective animal disease model for drug development. Our lab-scale process appears highly scalable and is capable of producing grams of enzyme per month in existing indoor greenhouse growth areas.
Using a viral transfection system and transgenic plants, we have expressed enzymes in plants that have potential as therapeutic agents for humans with the metabolic storage disorders known as Fabry disease and Gaucher disease. High specific activity recombinant enzymes were secreted by tobacco leaf cells via a default pathway of protein sorting into the apoplastic compartment, a network of extracellular space, cell wall matrix materials and intercellular fluid (IF). We further developed a novel bioprocessing method to purify these enzymes from the IF fraction.
Another object of this invention is to provide an optimized preproenzyme amino acid (AA) sequence for secretion of highly active lysosomal enzymes. Another object of this invention is to provide an optimized purification of lysosomal enzymes from either the IF fraction or from whole plant homogenates. Another object of this invention is to provide a molecular characterization of the enzymes purified by this process, including determination of enzyme specific activity.